MUMBAI: In Pune, a new committee will be formed within a week so that a Vice-Chancellor of the Savitribai Phule Pune University can be appointed. The state government has informed the

Bombay High Court,on that the appointment of a new vice-chancellor will be done within a week through a committee.  

For the unversed, a Public Interest Litigation (LIT) had been filed in the High Court over the appointment of the vice-chancellor. A SPPU senate member Bageshri Manthalkar and a retired, Pune-based professor, Dhananjay Kulkarni had filed the said PIL. The next hearing on this petition will be held on January 18.

On Monday, the Maharashtra government informed the Bombay High Court  that a new committee will be formed to appoint the Vice-Chancellor of the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU). The said appointment process will begin soon.

The petitions were heard before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanjay V Gangapurwala and Justice Sandeep V Marne. It sought the implementation of the existing provisions of the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, 2016 for the appointment of the SPPU's VC, which has been vacant since May last year.  

The petition has claimed that the 2016 Act has not been effectively implemented on time and key posts in the university, including Vice-Chancellor have been lying vacant.

The petitioners told the court that on May 18 last year, the post of Vice-Chancellor had fallen vacant and Vishwanath Kale, the caretaker of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University of Lonere in Raigad, was given an additional charge of the Vice-Chancellor of the Savitribai Phule Pune University.  

Advocates Anjali N Hellekar, Anu C Kaladharan and Manali Chipkar, appearing for the petitioners, referred to Section 11 (5) of the Act in their plea.